Photographing Someone Else's Art

Recently, along with Alcy and Debi,  I have done a considerable number of photographs of religious artifacts in and outside churches. I find them to be extremely beautiful, touching, visually attractive—true, for a great part, the photographs are simply documentation—not all but a large number of them. Actually most start out as documentary but some are so affecting that I do attempt, successfully or unsuccessfully, to include more. I know that they irritate my protestant friends and family as well as feel disrespectful to my Catholic friends. Sorry about that, they have meaning to me so I will continue to photograph them when I have the opportunity. One of these photographs, not mine, was entered into a competition. It received a comment that has caused me to ponder its truth. One of the persons critiquing the photograph said that he did not feel that it was possible to create art by photographing the artwork of another. I thought that was an interesting statement.

If you assume that architecture is a form of art, does that mean that Stieglitz’s photographs of the Flat Iron Building are not art? Does it mean that Steichen’s photograph of Rodin’s sculpture of Balzac is not art? If the Statue of Liberty is included within the frame of a photograph does that preclude the possibility that the photograph should be considered art? BTW, what is art?

Well, in truth, I don’t know and I don’t care. Now maybe someone else considers entries in an amateur photographic competition to be art. I have no problem with that although I am prone to disbelieve. On a few rare occasions I have heard the word referenced in respect to a photograph of mine. Although I don’t. I really do not care if what I do is considered art or not. I am making photographs or as I prefer to call them “images.” Calling them photographs implies that they are entirely camera based, my images are not, never will be. It is in the brush strokes that I am able to see the painter. It is in the post processing that I am able to see the photographer. Who, for gosh sakes, wants to see the camera—a totally unintelligent, mechanical device which is of little to no importance to the image beyond containing the light sensitive medium.

Anyway, back to photographing art, assuming you consider religious artifacts and graffiti to be art. As many other photographers do, I greatly enjoy photographing graffiti. Sometimes I will do an overall shot as a record for my Outdoor Art in Houston Project, but most often I find elements within the work that seem to fit my vision, my sense of order or chaos. Or in the case of the first few photographs here—create relationships that I find interesting. This, of course, is simply an extension of my randomness photographs. So, that having been said, these are a few of the photographs that I did of graffiti, the art of someone else, yesterday while Alcy was looking for marks.